[Geoff1873]

Please help....

I planted my seed potatoes 4 weeks ago, after almost 6 or 7 weeks of chitting.  The majority had good shoots albeit one or two felt a little soft.  The varieties were: 1st Earlies - Pentland Javelin, 2nd earlies - Estima, Main Crop - Maris Piper.  5 of each totalling 15 plants.

I was starting to get concerned last night as still had no growth coming through, so started parting the soil to hopefully find emerging growth.  However rather than finding signs of growth, I instead found a pile of mush where my seed potato once was.  Upon inspection of the other 14 seeds, I found exactly the same result - in some cases the seed potatoes were intact, but completely mushy inside.  All signs of shoots that were there prior to planting was gone.

I am absolutely gutted as I have other vegetables (peas, onions, carrots, etc) all showing good signs of progress - but I really wanted a good crop of potatoes as my kids love them.  I have raised beds and the soil is fairly new (2 years) following an extension renovation, but I have dug through plenty compost over the last 2 winters.

Can anybody help me and tell me what is wrong here?  I have found nothing online that might shed some light on this disastrous attempt.

[brokenglass]

Is your Plot subject to flooding?     Raised beds should have avoided any flooding but it does sond as if they have either been sitting in water or were perhaps carrying a virus.       Were they all Certified Seed Potatoes.

I hope someone on here can offer a more profound answer than I have offered.

[Ivor Backache]

I have never experienced this situation so I did a search on the internet, and found it is associated with wet soil.
The symptoms you describe suggest Pythium seed rot..
You have not given your location. Has your ground been flooded?
You say 'my seed potato' . Were they your own or certified seed?
You have added compost. I am assuming it was your own and could it have been contaminated with affected potato peelings?

To lose the lot suggests the problem is soil or your seed, or a combination of both. Just seen note by brokenglass and we are thinking along the same lines.  It's not too late to start again, but I would use  a different location (or pots)

[JayG]

Brokenglass's suggestions are both perfectly possible, with serious waterlogging the more likely (I would have thought the chances of 3 different varieties all carrying an infection which destroyed them before they got a chance to even start growing were quite remote.)

Another possibility is that they were subjected to frost - if it happened just before planting out it may have killed the tuber tissues without necessarily being too obvious at a glance.

[Geoff1873]

Many thanks for your responses.

The area is raised and is not prone to visible flooding, but it would be fair to say that the drainage is perhaps not great, and the soil underneath the surface can be quite stodgy.  My potatoes never came through last year either, but I put that down to new and not cultivated soil which had a lot of stones.  I spent an age over the winter digging through compost and riddling the big stones.  I have dug through plenty of my own compost and there was definitely no potato peelings within the compost.  My other vegetables seem to be thriving which is why I am so disappointed. 

As for the seed potatoes, I bought them from Dobbies Garden Centre.

One thing that I didn't mention is that I chitted my potatoes in my conservatory, which can go from one temperature extreme to the other.  By night it can be very cold and during the day if the sun is out then it gets very warm.  Might this have contributed?

My gut feeling is that this is down to the soil due to the failure last year as well.  PLan B is to buy some more seed potatoes tonight (if there are any left) and plant them in bags.

[JayG]

Don't know where you live Geoff, but this winter and spring has been remarkable for many for how few frosts there have been - your chitting conditions don't sound ideal, but then again not really out of the ordinary - it's also normal for seed spuds to go a bit soft after long chitting as they lose some of their stored water.

For it to have happened 2 years on the trot does suggest it's something to do with the soil - compost is usually good for spuds and stones aren't really a problem either.

Have you tried digging a deep hole in your bed to find out whether it fills with water, especially if the level is close to the depth you planted your spuds?

In the meantime, trying some in bags seems like a good idea - I'd go for earlies at this stage if possible. Good luck! 

[grinling]

it is not too late to start again especially as the ones on sale now are chitted in the bag. You could plant in a deep pot, similar to the ones supermarkets put flowers in depth or ask the supermarkets for theirs. Put compost about a 3rd and plant and cover and keep covering as it merges. might need to move into the greenhouse comes Sept/Oct before frost. should be ready for Nov/dec time.
This works for 1st early

[Geoff1873]

Thanks again everyone.

I forgot to say that I live in East Lothian, Scotland. There have been almost no frosts but the winter and spring have been terribly wet. My seeds were certainly not lying in water, my soil is not that saturated however it is safe to say that the soil retains more water than it should and can be very clay like in areas if I dig down about more than foot. However I planted my seeds around 6 inches deep.
I tried to buy more seed potatoes tonight but Dobbies were no longer selling.......any ideas?

Bags it is this year, however long term I want them innthe ground. Advice on how I can help drainage would be welcome.....?

[Yorkie]

It partly depends on what the cause of your poor drainage is, Geoff.  It's going to be very difficult to compete if it's a high water table - in which case raised beds is probably are worth considering.  If it's a 'pan' where a layer of clay has formed underneath where a rotavator has been used a lot, for example, then drainage will be improved by breaking up the pan.

[surbie100]

I tried to buy more seed potatoes tonight but Dobbies were no longer selling.......any ideas?

£land still have them in stock for small numbers, and my local garden centre is selling off 2kg bags for a pound too - might be worth checking at yours.

I'm slowly doing a version of double digging on my (clay) plot while putting in raised beds and that is helping enormously with the drainage problems.

[Snoop]

You might still find seed potatoes from some of the online suppliers. DT Browns still has some available, though a lot are sold out. Marshalls seems to be running a BOGOF on their seed potatoes.

Good luck. It's always frustrating when you've put lots of effort in and got your hopes up, only for them to be dashed. It's happened to me plenty... Hope it works out for you this time around.